Public sector workers in the UK have benefitted greatly from remote working, which has also opened up new opportunities for budget savings.
This is according to a new report from SAP, which claims remote civil servants have a better work-life balance, improved physical and mental health, and have become more productive.
SAP polled 2,000 public sector workers for the report and found that they are feeling more engaged and better able to collaborate with colleagues. Better work-life balance was cited as the number one reason for the improvement in the levels of engagement.
Although no official data has been published, SAP believes remote working could save the government significant sums in overhead. “Should the government cut its estate running costs by just 25 percent, it could save the public sector an estimated $895 million a year,” said the firm.
In order to further improve employee engagement, managers would appreciate better tools for remote employee onboarding and digital training, as well as better collaboration tools.
“Staff not only need access to training that helps them learn how to effectively utilize new tools and resources that improve collaboration, but they need help on what they need to learn,” said Leila Romane, Head of Success Factors at SAP UK and Ireland.
“Public sector employees are likely to be working from home for a significant part of this year and the opportunity is for that to continue. If the public sector is going to harness the value of home working these steps will pay dividends for the long term whilst potentially saving hundreds of millions of pounds each year.”
